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 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:34 pm
As a little kid when you prayed, if you prayed, what did you imagine it was like?
I always thought of it as like a big invisible tower beeming my prayers up towards heaven.
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:54 am
thats great imagery. unfortunately i did not pray as a child, i didnt understand god or jesus. i wasnt taught very well in those regards and i am very happy about that because now i see that if i had been i would have had much to unlearn.
when i pray now it is like a conversation. i do not ask for things, as i was once told what prayer was, but i seek guidance and understanding. i think that this is more like what prayer once was though now most people are self centered, materially minded and ignorant with little effort to remedy that state and all this is reflected in their religions and the functions of such. in small groups true religion does not fight for the lime light and few believe or seek it, but for those who do it serves them well, though silently.
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:40 am
I didnt pray very often, but when I did I guess I thought of it as a direct telephone line from my heart to gods ears. I didnt have any visual imaginations about it. god wasnt very important to me when I was a kid. my mother took me to church and all, but I personally never really took it very seriously.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:18 pm
I only ever prayed as a child and as a child I only prayed in desperation. I didn't visualize the entity I was praying to; I had no relationship with Him. My mind was always entirely focused on the lifting of whatever duress I was under.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 3:09 pm
I was raised in a very religious home, albiet hypocritical, but religious nonetheless. I too, rarely ever prayed, unless in distress. I had no imagination whatsoever regarding what was happening other than me talking so "he" could hear me. Naturally, I realized whatever was going to happen, was going to happen, and the only thing that could change that is action.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:40 am
here is a place where the degradation of religion is very apparent. prayer is rarely ever taught properly or even understood by those who practice it and the result is what is reported here, people come to god only when in distress. i personally dont think that pray should be an occasional petition for aid, but a daily dialog, though i do not do such myself. the intent of which is not to get closer to some distant king but to come to know the higher self and seek advice from such not in the position of a peon but as one would talk to a friend.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:51 pm
Things have changed immensely since I was a child on how I view prayers, God and my religion. When I was a toddler my mother taught me all the prayers she knew--I couldn't even say the words correctly let alone know what the heck I was saying.
As I grew older I prayed on my own with words that came from my honest wishes. I started to produce for myself an image that God was an unseen parent that will always listen to me even though some other adults would ignore my views or discomforts. I never got a definite answer because, of course, he cannot be heard. But this seemed to bring me peace.
And now, it appears as though I only "pray" in church. The way I see prayer is when someone must ask for something or give thanks for something. My relationship changed a great amount from how I used to communicate with Him. I pray less and less but I communicate more.
I may be at a park or simply walking home and I'll feel a breeze blow through my hair. I may be sitting outside and I suddenly see everything with incredible clarity (crisp, bright colors and my thoughts are no longer numb and I am at once completely aware of all that surrounds me and hold tranquility). Or at a similar moment, I will be overwhelmed with good feeling (an excitement); I feel alive. That is when I know He communicates with me and I, in response, give thanks.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:40 am
I didn't start praying until I was 8. My bilological parents were not religious. When I moved into different homes, I was introduced to christianity. When I was a child I had always pictured a giant angelic man with a white beard and long white hair kneeling by my window, his hand cupping his ear, listening to my prayers. However, a year or so later, I lost faith.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 12:35 pm
Femme Fatale Gunslinger I didn't start praying until I was 8. My bilological parents were not religious. When I moved into different homes, I was introduced to christianity. When I was a child I had always pictured a giant angelic man with a white beard and long white hair kneeling by my window, his hand cupping his ear, listening to my prayers. However, a year or so later, I lost faith. You lost faith why?
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:43 pm
I lost faith because of things I went through as a child. I blamed God and didn't understand why a man of such power and love would let those things happen to me or to anyone in the same/similar situation. Then someone I lived with for a while when I was 9 told me that God was punishing me because everything that happened was my fault. So then it became a Freddy Kruegar sort of thing, if I didn't believe in God he would just go away and leave me alone.
Later on I knew I was not to blame for anything, yet my faith was never restored. However, I am now open to ideas and the possibility of his existance, should I encounter some eye-opening experience or discussion.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:36 am
xLunatonexDevilSmilex Things have changed immensely since I was a child on how I view prayers, God and my religion. When I was a toddler my mother taught me all the prayers she knew--I couldn't even say the words correctly let alone know what the heck I was saying. As I grew older I prayed on my own with words that came from my honest wishes. I started to produce for myself an image that God was an unseen parent that will always listen to me even though some other adults would ignore my views or discomforts. I never got a definite answer because, of course, he cannot be heard. But this seemed to bring me peace. And now, it appears as though I only "pray" in church. The way I see prayer is when someone must ask for something or give thanks for something. My relationship changed a great amount from how I used to communicate with Him. I pray less and less but I communicate more. I may be at a park or simply walking home and I'll feel a breeze blow through my hair. I may be sitting outside and I suddenly see everything with incredible clarity (crisp, bright colors and my thoughts are no longer numb and I am at once completely aware of all that surrounds me and hold tranquility). Or at a similar moment, I will be overwhelmed with good feeling (an excitement); I feel alive. That is when I know He communicates with me and I, in response, give thanks. This is a rather interesting point admission. I think that there are those in religious practices that would call this a "maturing" of faith. That you've "grown up" in your faith enough to be able to communicate without words. Interesting to find in a philosophy thread as it is very easily confused with emotionalism....which we all know very well as the ultimate enemy of reason.
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